Dublin Port eyes Asian projects

THE Dublin Port Company is considering lodging a proposal with Government, before the end of this year, for it to make investments in port projects in Asia.

At yesterday’s publication of the state-supported company’s latest annual report and accounts, for 2008, chief executive Enda Connellan said that the firm’s long-since mooted overseas investment ideas were still under consideration and that a proposal could be made to Government before the end of this year.

Such a proposal would look at ports already linked with Dublin Port in the last couple of years – one in Indonesia and one near the Indian city of Goa. Mr Connellan said that any investment would likely be in the region of a single figure million euro sum and one investment in one port was the likely outcome.

Meanwhile, the company’s latest accounts showed that it put in a good performance in 2008 with operating profit up by 24.5% to €26.97 million and turnover marginally up from €70.4m to €70.6m; although pre-tax profits fell from €157.4m to €29.2m. However, ferry passenger numbers through the port were down slightly – from 1.3m in 2007 to 1.26m by the end of last December – and the amount of cargo being shipped through it fell by 4.6% to 29.6m tonnes. Capital investment amounted to €26.6m and there was a 22% rise – to €5.1m – in the dividend paid to Government.

However, 2009 is likely to be a tougher year. In the first six months of the year, cargo throughput was down by nearly 16%, on a year-on-year basis, to 12.9m tonnes; turnover was down 13% at €30.7m and operating profit was down by 4.5% on the same period last year to €12.1m. Tourist passenger numbers were up in the first six months of this year by 7.6%, year-on-year; with tourist car numbers up by nearly 20%.

Despite the effects of the slowdown, trade through Dublin Port was down, last year, less than 5% from its all-time throughput high of 30m tonnes, recorded in 2007. There was a further 3.9% increase in the dividend paid to Government this year – €5.3m.

The Dublin Port is planning to invest €500m in further development of its site, part of the spend going on reclaiming and developing 21 hectares of land

That project is awaiting planning permission from An Bord Pleanála.